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Israel Targets the "Gaza Metro" of Hamas Tunnels Hiding Terrorists
(Telegraph-UK) Ben Farmer - Hamas has spent two decades building a labyrinth of deep, defensive tunnels to resist any ground assault by Israeli troops, experts said. The extensive network is believed to be as much as 100 feet (30 meters) beneath the surface in some places. Tunnel entrances are hidden in the bottom floors of houses, mosques and schools, while Gaza's narrow streets and alleyways are expected to have been laid with booby traps and homemade bombs in preparation for any Israeli attack. Dr. Daphne Richemond-Barak, an expert on underground warfare at Reichman University in Israel, told the BBC: "The tunnels inside Gaza...are definitely equipped for a longer, sustained presence. The leaders are hiding there, they have command-and-control centers, they use them for transport and lines of communication. They are equipped with electricity, lighting and rail tracks." "Think of Gaza as one layer for civilians and then another layer for Hamas," Jonathan Conricus, an IDF spokesman, said Thursday. "These aren't bunkers for Gazan civilians. It's only for Hamas and other terrorists so that they can continue to fire rockets at Israel, to plan operations, to launch terrorists into Israel."